Human activities have caused toxic metal pollution and ecological risks to agricultural soil. In this study, 291 topsoil samples, collected in the agricultural soil system of Yuzhong, China, were selected to study the toxic metals and metalloids contamination characteristics, source and ecological risk based on geostatistics, pollution index, and ecological risk index. The main distribution of As is adjacent to pasture land and mainly comes from animal husbandry; Pb was observed near a coal mining factory and the Yellow River and was derived from industry and transportation; Cd was similar to Pb and was mainly derived from industry, transportation, and agriculture; Cr was found near a cement plant and was derived from industry and transportation; and Hg was found near an urban area and was mainly from industry and domestic garbage. The ratio of these elements exceeding the soil background value reached 99.9%. Except for the excess amounts of Cd and Hg in some samples, Cr, Hg, and As were mostly below permissible limits. Moreover, the comprehensive potential ecological risk of toxic metals is mainly at medium level and below, whereas the risks of Cd and Hg are higher. Control of Cd and Hg is important to prevent soil pollution. Fasudil mouse This study explains the current contamination situation, the predominant contaminants and their sources, and provides emphasis and direction for agricultural soil remediation. Carbon dots (C-dots) with antimicrobial activity were synthesized from the white mulberry extract in order to fabricate anti-listeria nanopaper using bacterial nanocellulose (BNC). A highly dispersed synthesized C-dots with a size smaller than 10 nm (~4.9 nm) was impregnated into BNC by an ex-situ coating method and mechanical, morphological, UV-protectant, and antibacterial activity were assessed. Randomized response surface (RSM) methodology using central composite design was applied to investigate the optimized concentration of C-dots in the BNC membrane. An optimized nanopaper with C-dots at 530 g L concentration and impregnation time of 14 hr at 30 °C with significant antimicrobial activity on Listeria monocytogenes was designed. The addition of C-dots into BNC significantly increased ultimate tensile strength and decreased strain to break of BNC. A BNC sheet with high-efficient UV-blocking property was prepared by C-dots. Based on the results, the designed nanopaper has an important capability for fabrication of antimicrobial/ UV-blocking sheets for food active packaging. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.Based on the results, the designed nanopaper has an important capability for fabrication of antimicrobial/ UV-blocking sheets for food active packaging. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This retrospective study aims to determine whether the maxilla-mandible-nasion (MMN) angle can be reliably measured in the first trimester, to describe normal ranges, and to determine if significant changes occur in foetuses with aneuploidies. The MMN angle was measured in stored 2D-ultrasound images of 200 normal fetal profiles between 11 and 13 weeks of gestation. Each image was analyzed by two observers at two independent time points. Bland-Altmann analysis was performed to evaluate the reliability of the measurements. Additionally, the MMN angle was measured on sonograms from 140 aneuploid foetuses. The mean MMN angle in normal foetuses from 11 to 14 weeks of gestation was 15.4°. Reliability of the measurement was high when repeatedly measured by the same observer (ICC = 0.92 and 0.82) and between two observers (ICC = 0.77 and 0.63). Average MMN values in foetuses with trisomy 21, 13, and Turner syndrome were significantly higher than those measured in normal foetuses. The highest differences were observed in foetuses with trisomy 13. Among those, 62% had an MMN angle above the 95th percentile and 92% above the normal mean. The MMN angle can be reliably measured in early pregnancy and is abnormal in about 60% of foetuses with trisomy 13.The MMN angle can be reliably measured in early pregnancy and is abnormal in about 60% of foetuses with trisomy 13.Extracellular α-amylase and protease were coproduced from halotolerant Virgibacillus dokdonensis VITP14 with banana peels (2% w/v) as substrate. The pH optima for α-amylase and protease were 6.5 and 7.0 respectively. The temperature optima of α-amylase and protease were 30°C and 50°C respectively. Both the enzymes were active in the presence of various metal ions (1 mM of Ni2+, Ca2+, Ba2+, Sr2+ and Mg2+), detergents (Tween 20, Tween 80, Triton X-100) and other additives (2-mercaptoethanol and urea). Both the enzymes followed Michaelis-Menten type enzyme kinetics with Vmax of 121.40 μmol min-1 ml-1 and 4.17 μmol min-1 ml-1 and Km of 0.59 mg ml-1 and 0.28 mg ml-1 for amylase and protease respectively. Amylase showed higher activation energy for inactivation (75.55 kJ mol-1 compared to 59.70 kJ mol-1 for protease) and higher thermal stability (reflected by longer half-life 53.23 min compared to 0.11 min for protease) at 60°C. The coexistence of amylase and protease could be attributed to the difference in the optimum temperatures of activity and thermal stability of the two enzymes. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. Completion lymph node dissection (CLND) did not improve melanoma-specific survival for patients with sentinel lymph node (SLN)-positive melanoma in the second Multicenter Selective Lymphadenectomy Trial (MSLT-II). We assessed surgeons' awareness of MSLT-II and its impact on CLND recommendations. An anonymous online cross-sectional survey of the Society of Surgical Oncology membership evaluated surgeon thresholds in offering CLND using patient scenarios and clinicopathologic characteristics ranking. Of the 2881 e-mails delivered, 146 surgeons (5.1%) completed all seven scenarios. Most (129 of 131, 98%) were aware of MSLT-II and 125 (95%) found it practice-changing. Specifically, 52% (65 of 125) always, 40% usually, 6% rarely, and 3% never offered CLND before MSLT-II. Meanwhile, 4% always, 9% usually, 78% rarely, and 8% never offer CLND now, after MSLT-II (p < .0001). The most important clinicopathologic factors in determining CLND recommendations were extracapsular extension, number of positive SLN, and SLN tumor deposit size, while primary tumor mitotic index and nodal basin location were the least important.